


The Lonely Hero

by Maxy0008



Category: South Park
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-07-16 05:15:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16079198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maxy0008/pseuds/Maxy0008
Summary: Kenny has been Mysterion for years. He was sure he had the act down but when he gets in overhead everything in he has ever worked for is in danger.





	1. Chapter 1

Everything was supposed to be perfect.

The clouds floating high in the sky, blocking the shining sun so it wasn’t too hot, but it was close enough to summer so it wasn't too cold either. Ms. Congeniality got it right, April 25th was the perfect date. At least, that’s what Leo thought.

That’s why he chose it for our wedding date, because our wedding was going to be perfect. So Leo did everything he could to make it that way.

Never in a thousand years would I have ever pictured having a wedding in the South Park Community Center. The building was sitting on its last leg. Chunks of brink and overgrown grass littered the outsides while chipped grey paint and loose wires made their home in the confines of rotting walls. None of that mattered. Not to Leo anyways. It was the place we fell in love when were 15 and by golly it was where we were getting married.

So he got to work, and by the time our rehearsal came around, no one could believe that the building was the same one that sat in the same place just less than a year ago.

Granted, he couldn’t fix the brick of the building, but he did his best to make it look beautiful. The lawn was freshly cut with flowers growing around the building, and pixie lights danced across carefully placed poles along the sidewalk towards it’s entrance. Around the double doors was a flower arch that matched the ones that were planted in the ground, and the doors themselves had a collage of photos of the two of us throughout the years.

Stepping foot into the building just proved how skilled Leo really was when he put his mind to something. The walls that were once chipped and fading away into dust where now flat and repainted with a vibrant blue. The wires that hung from the walls where tucked away in the ceiling, hidden away behind halogen lights that replaced the old, blinking fluorescent ones. Even the wooden floors had a shine to them.

It was almost like he knew magic.

And that wasn't even including his decor for the affair. Five rows of redwood chairs (or at least chairs painted to look like redwood) sat in a crescent shape that faced towards the back of the building. Each one accompanied by orange and blue tulle that decorated that back. Where the chairs spilt, was our makeshift aisle. Most people probably put down some sort of carpet to show where it was, but not Leo, he decided to use flowers and teeny tiny lights that lead up to the stage. With a new, fresh coat of the same redwood paint he used on the chairs, the stage was bursting with life. Tulle and vines hung down from a wooden arch that was covered in those little lights. Both of our favorite colors combining to create a beautiful display over the place where the two us would get married.

He always found a way to amaze me. 

It was kind of funny, because after spending so many years being called a fairy, he really was going all out for the fairy look. Maybe, he meant to do it. A big fuck you to everyone who ever gave him shit. That wouldn’t surprise me, not in the slightlist. 

Because he was perfect.

And April 25th was supposed to be perfect.

But not perfect in the way that your tux fit just right, or the flower arrangements were placed just right so they brought the room to life with specs of powder blue and sunset orange. It didn’t matter if the cakes design was just how he pictured, or that we were able to train our dog to bring the rings down the aisle. Even if Leo wasn’t a literal miracle worker, it was still supposed to be perfect.

Perfect in the way that marrying your best friend is supposed to be. Just the two of you, knowing that no matter what together you could conquer the word.

But it wasn't perfect, because instead of standing besides Leo, where I belonged, I was laying in the middle of the street, waiting for death to take me.

OoO

“Kenny,” Kyle’s hand lazily waved in front of my face, pulling me back to the real world. Looking up I meet his jungle green eyes, where vines of worry had rooted themselves deeply into his gaze. “When’s the last time you slept?” I shrugged, who had time for sleeping? There was too much I needed to do. Too many people I needed to protect. Too many things I needed to keep off my mind, and the only way I could do that was by keeping busy.

Or doing drugs, and I didn’t want to go back to that lifestyle.

It was starting to become an issue though, because when I’m tired I zone out, and when I zone out I’m not always on guard. Not like I should be. I haven’t surveyed the familiar settings of Tweak Bros. coffee shop. Sure, the likeliness of something happening there was slim due to Tweek’s known reputation of being a scrappy little bastard, but it was still there.

So, much to Kye’s annoyance I ignored him in favor of checking out the shop. It was slow, but then again, coffee shops weren’t really busy at 3 in the afternoon. The few people who were in there were sitting in the black plush chairs that Tweek had bought when he remodeled. In fact, Leo was the one who helped him. It really showed by how nicely all the colors came together. Leo was really big on color, and that showed with the mint and lilac colors he chose for the shop. 

An irritable sigh came from across the table. It made sense that Kyle was upset. He cared about his friends. Loyalty was one of those things that kept us close through all these years. Hell, his loyalty was the reason why he was the only one who I trusted with my secret. Pushing himself up from his seat, Kyle leaned over the table just enough for him to be close to me. “Look,” he whispered, looking around to make sure no one was listening. “I get that this whole Mysterion thing is important to you, but you can’t stop taking care of yourself to take care of a town that doesn’t deserve it.”

Okay, so Kyle only knows part of the secret. He never seems to remember when I tell him that Mysterion’s power is that of immortality, but it’s not his fault. No one remembers. “I’m fine Kyle.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. I was fine, borderlining betweening making it and not, but I mean, I was fine. He didn’t believe me. That was obvious in the way that he stared at me. His eyes thinned as he studied my face for any instance of a lie. 

When he couldn’t find one he grunted and plopped back into his chair, his arms tight around his chest. “You have a scar did you notice that?” I cocked an eyebrow. It didn’t make sense to me how I had a scar. Most of the time when I die I come back with my body completely new. The only times a scar will stay is if it forms before my death, and with what I do I die pretty fucking often. “I’m guessing by the dumbass look on your face the answer is no. It’s by your hairline. Did you crack your head open and just not say anything?” Flinging his arms in the air he shook his head in the dramatic fashion that was Kyle Broflovski. “God, see Kenny this is why I worry about you. You go off and get yourself into trouble without thinking! What if something happens to you? What then?”

Eight seconds. Four seconds to take a deep breath in, four to let it out. It was how I cleared my mind. A trick I learned from Tweek, I thought it was pretty stupid at first, but damn was it helpful. Especially when people dance around the question of death. It wasn’t like I could technically die, but still, I knew the risk of what I did. That’s why I did it. Clasping my hands together I rested my chin on them. “Nothing is going to happen Kyle. Trust me.”

“Fine.” Kyle brushed back his wild curls. “Fine, but just please get some rest.”

“Now,” I said taking a drink of a hot black coffee, “is there a reason why you asked me to meet you here at 3 p.m. on Tuesday?” I thought about tacking on the fact that I had shit to do, but Kyle knew damn well that what that meant was the fact that I was going to be working on some new weapon to take down an enemy without really hurting them.

Pressing his fingers against his temples he rubbed at them not even trying to hide the groan that came from his lips. “Dude, you know I support you, and honestly what you do helps us so much at the station.” Kyle’s a cop, well not really. He doesn’t do field work, more like he’s the guy who does the research and puts cases together. I guess he’s more like a detective? It doesn’t matter if he was or not, I wouldn’t call him that. Detective Broflovski doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. “But, I don’t think I can help you anymore.”

Well, that definitely grabbed my full attention. “What?” I asked, my eyebrow cocked. My ‘what’ wasn’t the kind where I didn’t hear what he said, it was more like ‘what did he mean he couldn’t help me?’ Officer/detective/clue gather Kyle was the person who helped me figure out what the low lives of this town were up to so I could stop it, and then, all of a sudden he couldn’t help me anymore? 

Bullshit.

The corner of my lip twitched downward into a frown as I watched him searching his data bank brain for an answer. Kyle wasn’t normally one to remain quiet, he was quick with his answers, a fast thinker. He must have been looking for an answer that wouldn’t upset me, tiptoeing around all of the answers until he found the one that would work best.

Finally, he said with his head low. “They want to start an investigation on you.” 

My face twisted into a look of surprise, my mouth slightly hung open, my left slightly shut as my right was glued open. “What the fuck?” Why they would open an investigation on me took me by complete shock. I had been helping those useless bastards since I was 10 years old and now almost 16 years later they wanted to investigate me? Great. Just fucking wonderful. This was simply perfect. 

Kyle wrapped his hand around his face, softly pressing his pointer finger and the middle on against his eyes. It always surprised me when I saw how large his hands were. Sure, he was taller than average but his hands just seemed bigger than him and they way he was smushing his face in his palm was showing just how stressful this situation was to him. “I’m sorry Ken. It’s kind of my fault too. I have been helping you, but I guess I wasn't covering my tracks as well as I thought. They think it's one of the officers using his job as way to get Intel. I'm hoping after they finish looking at the station that they’ll drop it, but until then I can't help you. I’m sorry dude. I really am.”

Kyle’s apology was genuine. In fact, I felt kind of shitty because of how bad that crazy haired bastard felt, it was my fault he was in that mess after all. Letting out a heavy sigh I let my head fall to the table, the blonde of my hair blocking him from my view. “It’s fine Kyle.” I muttered. If it meant protecting my friend I would just find another way to get the information I needed. Maybe I could ask Kevin to teach me about computers. He knew how to hack and all of that cool shit, I would just need to figure out a reason for me to be asking without raising any questions. 

“Hey,” Kyle softly pressed his large hand against my head and ruffled my hair. “I need to be heading out. Duty calls ya’ know?” I lifted my arm in acknowledgement but kept my head on the table. “Promise me you’ll get some sleep tonight okay?” Holding up a thumbs up seemed to prove good enough of a promise to him. I kept my head down until I heard him scurry away and the little bell above the door ring.

When he was finally gone, I sat up and sighed to myself.

I needed to stop making promises I knew I wasn’t able to keep.


	2. The Night We Met

I never grew up in the best situation. We were poor. My house was an old shed that my dad built as a teenager and added onto as the family grew. My siblings and I wore ratty wore down clothes and didn’t have access to a shower when we wanted it. My parents were drug addicted alcoholics who always preferred putting the blame of our family's status on anyone but themselves. Still, even through all of that, I grew up with people who loved me.

The same couldn’t be said for Leo.

It’s weird, when you remember something from when you are so young. People try to pass it off as a dream, or a falsified memory that comes from wanting to remember, but I knew better. There was no forgetting the terror that sat in a small, lost five year olds face as he shook under the street lights. 

I heard something outside my bedroom and, like any curious child, I peeked outside to see him. His head whipping around in every direction as he tried his best to figure out where he was. Pale blue eyes shimmering while tears practically glowed in the moonlight.

That was the first time I’ve ever felt the need to protect someone. So I quietly slipped out of the old mattress that we found on the side of the street, slipped on my coat and snuck down the stairs. Even then I knew I didn’t have to do that. My parents never woke up once they passed out, but I guess the idea of sneaking out really made me feel like a hero.

The small boy jumped out of his skin only settling back in once he was face to face with someone who was just as small. I slowly lifted a hand so it was in front of me in a frozen wave. “Hey,” I said to him trying to keep my voice calm and soothing. “It’s not very safe out here. Do you need help getting home?”

The tips of fingers tapped together as the toes of his shoes pressed into the concrete. I could see the gears in his head turning as he contemplated his trust for me. “Well gee…” His eyes stayed focused on the ground. “I guess that would be okay. My parents are going to be awful sore if I’m not home when they wake up.”

“Well,” I said, slapping my hands on my hips in a superhero stance, chest popped out and all. “I guess we just have to get you back home before they wake up!”

A quick nod from the boy let me know that he was willing to trust me, and that was one of the best feelings I have ever had in my five years of life.

Holding my hand out towards him, he took it and the two of us started down the dark road. “What are you doing out here anyways?”

“Gee, my mom and dad finally let me get a hamster, and well, he got out see, so I was trying to find him. I guess he’s gone for good. I just hope he’s happy.”

Pursing my lips I scanned the streets in hopes that we might be able to find his hamster on our way home. I knew, even then, that it was probably a lost cause, but it didn’t matter to me. I was a hero and heros helped. “What does your house look like?” I listened while he explained it to me, but there was one thing that he said that made me know exactly where to go, that he lived next to a boy named Eric Cartman.

It didn’t take long after that to get him home, and the look of relief on his face was more than enough thanks for me. I was a hero after all. There was just one thing I wanted to know before he disappeared into his home. “Hey, kid, what's your name?” I asked him just as he was about to climb up the makeshift rope to his room.

A large smile grew on his face as his hands wrapped around the sheets. “Why, it’s Butters.”

OoO

Something was off.

The night was quiet. No noticeable crime, no drunks causing chaos in the streets after one too many beers, no drugged up junkies getting ready to fight over the last bit of whatever their poison was. 

It was nights like this where turning in early and getting a full night's sleep was tempting, trying to seduce me into giving up the lifestyle I chose for myself.

But, something in my gut told me, was telling me, that there was something wrong. I just hadn’t figured it out yet. God, I missed when Kyle was able to help. He would tell me what the police were looking into, who they had on file, who I could follow.

That little bit of information helped make my night, and I had none of it. It was okay, I was fine. All I had to do was just go back to the time before Kyle joined the force. That was only 6 years ago, easy, I was stuck in the past anyways.

Taking a deep breath, cold air swirled around in my lungs before I released it into a smoke like haze that danced around the night sky, vanishing before it flew too close to the moon. I needed to clear my mind, let my instincts take over, hear the world around me.

It wasn’t like I had useful powers, I mean, I guess being able to reincarnate overnight could be seen as useful, but it wasn’t. Not like super strength, speed, mind control, or one of the other many, many superpowers that could have existed. That would have been helpful, but I had to make do. I needed to protect the people of this town and the only way to do that was using my ability to learn from my mistakes and take any risk needed to get the job done. 

I started with checking out my normal protection points: bars, the strip club, alleys, anywhere that a person could come across a bad situation. All of it was clear, even the bars had lighter traffic tonight than they normally did. After that I checked out the more dangerous areas, crack houses, abandoned warehouses, the storage units- areas near where I grew up. Those were the places where I usually found the kind of activities that gave me a purpose, but even those were dead ends.

I was just about to call a night when I overheard someone talking. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, or even if they were involved in anything considered bad, but that feeling in my gut told me I needed to follow that voice. I needed to find out what was going on. 

The man headed towards the community center, the very place that Leo brought back from the brink of death. He looked behind him every now and then to see if someone was following, but I had gotten so good at it over the years that he couldn't detect me. Before he stepped inside he knocked on the door. One, one, one, two, one. There was a pause before anything happened, it was what seemed like a minute before the door even opened. So, when it did the man slipped inside closing the door quickly behind him.

Once the coast was clear I made my way over towards the building. Staying close to the wall, I circled around towards the back of building where the backdoor to the office was. Placing my ear against it, I listened for any kind of life in the room. Once I determined it’s safety, I picked my way past its lock and stepped inside.

It was just how I remembered it. Yellow walls, overfilled filing cabinets that hadn’t ever been touched, all kinds of decorations from different events piled up against the corner to keep the mountain from crumbling down. My heart stung a little when I saw the fairy lights from my own wedding, but it was a feeling that needed to be pushed down, there were more important things at play. There always was, and I didn’t have time to feel sorry for myself. 

As quiet as I could be, I walked towards the door and slightly cracked it open. The main room came to life, filled with the people I met on a normal basis. Not in the fun way either, more like in the way where I’d find them doing something they shouldn’t have and if I needed to, we’d fight and I’d have them sent off to jail. All of them were circled around someone who seemed so familiar, yet their identity was lost on me. An average height, heavier set man in costume stood in the middle of the room. Something told me I would know who he was if he wasn’t wearing that getup, but with him wearing a racoon like mask, a grey and white loose fitting bodysuit, and a red cape draped over his shoulders I couldn’t pinpoint it.

“We need to keep to the plan!” He shouted, his voice clearly made to sound different than it really was. “We can’t have you fucking JUNKIES taking the product we NEED to get the people we need to make this thing work! Is that understood?!” There were nods around the room, but it remained silent. No one dared to speak to the Racoon dressed man in the center of the room. Why they were so scared of him was lost on me, but I didn’t question it. He clearly had made his mark and I needed to understand why.

“Tomorrow, the half you I selected will meet me at point A where we are going to collect what we need, the second half of you are going to get what else was discussed in our previous meeting. Under normal conditions I would gladly go into more detail, however,” His head turned towards the office door and a sly, ominous smile grew on his face. “We have a visitor.” 

My heart jumped to my throat as the two of us locked eyes. Eyes that I have seen before, yet I was unable to place. “Well, well well, Mysterion, I was hoping you would fall for my trap.” 

Pushing the door opened I crossed my arms, keeping my face flat. “Is that so?” I questioned, trying to hide my surprise. I was so certain my presence wasn’t noticed, and if it was, how would they know I was going to follow them here? I was sloppy, and now I was in for a fight that I wasn’t so sure I could win. 

The man swept his arm across the room to show the many faces that were around him. “I’m sure you recognize a lot of these people. People who you have decided weren’t worthy of getting away. People who you have hurt, whose lives you have ruined by throwing them in a corrupt system.” His smile stayed on his face as the tips of his fingers pressed together. “I spent a long time thinking up this little plan, and I am not stupid enough to let it all get ruined by some vigilante who thinks he is above the very law he tries to protect. So, as promised folks, here is your play thing.” With a confident stride he moved towards me and ran his fingers along my face before walking into the office I just left. “Have fun.” 

I paused. Why the fuck did I pause? I could have at least taken down that racoon obsessed asshole and stopped this whole operation, but like so many other things I fucked it up and all I could do now was try to take down as many people as I could and get out of there, because God knows if I went down all of my efforts were for not. 

The fist slamming into my jaw was like a play button, that brought everything back up to speed. I ignored the pain that pulsed through my skull like a hammer slamming against my brain and turned forcing my fist to met the man’s stomach. As he stumbled backwards his teeth snarled at me, but I had no time to pay attention to that. There were twenty other people in the room that were rushing after me, and I needed to focus on taking them down. It wasn’t like I thought I could win. I was clearly outnumbered and this wasn’t a video game or a movie where people came after you one at time. No, these were the kind of people who would take turns holding you down so each and everyone could beat the shit out of you, but the more I took down the better it would be.

Wait.

No it wouldn’t. As soon as these fuckers killed me all of the work I did on them wouldn’t matter. What I needed to do was find out where one of them lived, or something about them that I could use to my advantage. That way I could follow them and discover what exactly they were up to. “Hey, how ya doing.” I said as I caught one of the fists that flung to my face. “Anyways could I know your name?” A loud scream came from the man as he yanked his hand away and his foot came crashing into my side. Stumbling I landed in the arms of another thug who wrapped his arm around my throat. “I’ll take that as a no.” My voice was already choppy and it didn’t help that another man's fist was slamming into my stomach like I was his own personal punching bag.

I jabbed my elbow into the man who had his grasp on my side. It wasn’t much but he let me go long enough for me to get behind him. As quickly as I could I yanked his wallet from his pants and opened it to check for a license. Jumping back from the group of men I got just far enough that I could look for an address. Bingo. 2348 El Mino dr. Apt. 3 one of the newer places in South Park that was built to try and reduce the amount of homeless.

It didn’t take long before the men were on me again, this time my arms held down on both sides and my legs pinned to the ground. I tried to wiggle free but each time I gained a little traction on my end another man would just join in holding me down. 

I could feel the strength leaving my body with every punch, every kick, every single hit that these people laid on me. My body was bruising, my breath was getting choppy, and my eyes swollen and heavy. The pain was nothing though. All something I’d felt before, all something that was nothing compared to the other things I have been through. In fact, they didn’t get a noise out of me until I felt my ribs break, and the broken pieces found themselves pressing against my lungs. “AH!” I grunted through clenched teeth as the room filled with laughter.

“Didn’t like that did ya?” It was a woman's voice this time. I knew there were woman there, but I didn’t think they were in on his beat em up fest. Bad Kenny, don’t be sexist, woman can be just as evil as men. “Well, then, I hope you enjoy this even less.”

It was a knife. I could tell by how smoothly it entered my gut while easily ripping my intestines apart. A cough crawled up my throat, my mouth filled with blood and the second it was all forced out by another stab a grim found itself to my face. “Thank fuck.” Was all I could manage before my world turned black.


End file.
